Car wax for speed?

03-09-2012, 02:29 AM

Hi Nev,

I just took delivery of a brand new Hellfire RF (yew!) and noticed that the bottom of it is much smoother than my Dominator FST after 1 year of use.
I've seen some people recommend using a car wax product or even Rain-X on the bottom of your board to increase speed. I've also seen people say that sanding the board is the only solution. Maybe I should just man up and paddle harder.
What are your thoughts?

thats where the "pro-tech" sanded finish trend of the 90's came from...research at the time showed water moved quicker over a non-gloss/rougher surface...(think quaser bottoms and golf balls)..but this modern take on surface treatment is aiming to stop the water attaching to the surface in the first place...

I think it's just the distributor taking too much of a markup. Not all imported boards are that expensive. I bought my Dom when I was back home in Oz on holiday and ordered my HF from the US. Even with shipping and import duties it came out at half the price of buying it here. Even my local surf shop here in Japan said they have a hard time selling FW boards because people can get them from overseas for half the price. It's a shame though. If the markup wasn't so high here I'd be happy to pay a bit more and support the local stores.

Comment

did some research on the Rain-x. Boaters seem to think it slows them down. and to use 300 or 400 grit sandpaper.
I do not know about nanotune.

I read that somewhere too. Something about it making the water bead up and causing friction. I guess that's what it does on your windscreen - slows the water down so it collects into droplets that then get pushed aside by the wind. It's hard to tell what's best, that's why I was hoping to hear from Nev. The only thing I know for certain is that surf wax on the bottom isn't going to make my board go faster.

Yokota in 1983? You must have surfed down in Shonan then with a view of Mount Fuji. I bet it wasn't half as crowded back then.

daybit ..Almost..It was USAF trip on C-141's, too cold at the beaches near Yokota only had my vest.. waves at that time were pretty flat, stayed in the car. Went to Okinawa later that week (and other trips incl P.I. Guam and Hawaii) scored Ikei island reef BIG and throttling and other spots, no crowds at all on Okinawa and back then in Guam. I was 20 back then, never thought to take a camera, just had beer, hydrogen peroxide, surf wax, munchies, condoms and pocket change.

I read that somewhere too. Something about it making the water bead up and causing friction. I guess that's what it does on your windscreen - slows the water down so it collects into droplets that then get pushed aside by the wind. It's hard to tell what's best, that's why I was hoping to hear from Nev. The only thing I know for certain is that surf wax on the bottom isn't going to make my board go faster.

Yokota in 1983? You must have surfed down in Shonan then with a view of Mount Fuji. I bet it wasn't half as crowded back then.